Scarlet Tears
by KaeBird13
Summary: BEING REWRITTEN! Will be back sometime during fall.
1. YOU KILLED lU-CHAN!

Lucy's side flared with pain as a dark flower of blood bloomed through her shirt. She clenched her teeth to stop the scream from escaping her mouth. She would not let this irritating mage see her pain.

"Lucy-chan," A deep voice rumbled with laughter. "are you still refusing to speak up?"

Lucy snarled at him, her hands clenched into tight fists. If only her hands weren't bound to the wall, then she could reach her keys...

"Oh?" The voice whispered in Lucy's ear. "You still think you can beat me, how... adorable." A thin finger slid under Lucy's chin.

"Get your filthy hands off me." Lucy recoiled from his touch. The man behind her snickered.

"Are you really willing to do this, Lucy-chan?" He sighed seductively. "Are you really willing to die for your nakama?" He stepped out in front of the girl and traced her smooth lips with his hand. With a sudden movement, Lucy grabbed his fingers with her teeth and bit down hard. Blood welled in her mouth, making her gag, but she refused to let go.

"Insolent fool." The man hissed. An unseen blow struck Lucy in the abdomen. She could not contain the scream of pain this time.

"They abandoned you." The man gripped Lucy's cheeks and shook her head. "They left you all alone, and do you know why? Because you're _weak_. The weak cannot survive in this world. Perhaps they did you a favor? Once again Lucy, are you really willing to die for your nakama? If you can even call those scum that name anymore."

"Don't" Lucy said harshly. "I don't care what you say about them leaving me, it doesn't matter anymore. But don't ever say anything bad about Natsu, Grey, Erza or Happy!"

The man chuckled and released her. "Fine, have it your way. Go ahead and die for them, that's all the weak can seem to offer this world anyway."

"So what if I'm weak?" Lucy coughed. Her throat burned from lack of water. "You can burn me, starve me, stab me, even tear me limb from limb, but I won't sell out my friends. Not today, tomorrow, or even seven years from now. I may be weak in battle, but for my nakama, I will be strong."

The man was silent as he studied the girl's defiant face. Stubbornness was all he could see in her chocolate brown eyes. It was the kind of stubbornness that said you could drag the person through Hell, but they would still get back up. He sighed with a slight smile. "Oh my dear Lucy-chan, didn't I already say you could have it your way?"

He signaled to the slim girl standing in the corner, her body hidden in the Shadows. "Kera-chin, please continue!"

The girl nodded slightly and turned to Lucy. Lucy's back arched with pain as Kera worked her magic on the celestial wizard.

The man watched for a moment more before exiting the cell. "Master," He bowed to the person standing just to the right of the door.

"How did it go?" His Master demanded in response.

"I am saddened to say, Master, but it seems like your judgment of her was completely inaccurate. She refuses to budge, even though Kera-chin has been working on her since morning."

A smile etched its way onto the Master's mouth. The man shuddered as the malicious intent swept over him. Yes, even someone as strong as he was 100% terrified of the Master.

"And that's where you're wrong, Sarden." The Master's cloak swept behind him as he started walking down the long stone hall. "I predicted Lucy would be like this from the beginning, but do you know what that means?"

"'Fraid not, Master." Sarden jogged to keep up.

"It means that breaking her will be all the more fun."

* * *

Two weeks earlier

"What a fine day, we're having today, Levy-chan." I smiled and took a deep, audible breath of the clean air. The sun sparkled in the blue sky above us, heating the air into a comfortable temperature.

"Isn't it wonderful, Lu-chan?" Levy grinned with a bounce in her step as we approached the guild. "To finally have a nice day after a week straight of stormy weather?"

"Yeah." I agreed wholeheartedly. "I can finally wear my new tank top I bought. Speaking of buying stuff, are you sure you don't need a hand with all those books?"

Levy shifted around the twenty or so books piled up in her arms. "Nah, I think I'll manage."

I shrugged, but kept my eye out. Sure enough, she stumbled and nearly dropped all of her precious books stepping up to the giant oak doors of our guild.

"Don't worry about me!" She caught herself before I could reach out to help her. "I got this!"

"Oh, Lu-chan, have you finished the next chapter of your book?" Levy asked me as I grabbed the handles of the door.

"Just about, there's a few things that I think I'm going to have to change-"

"Wait." Levy placed her hand on mine, her eyes darting back and forth.

"What?" I asked in surprised.

"Don't you think it's a bit too quiet?"

I frowned. Levy was right. You could usually hear the guild battling it out a block away, but it was completely silent behind those doors. Panic stabbed at me, and I turned my worried eyes on Levy. "You don't think...?" I let my sentence trail off.

Levy's eyes were just as fearful as mine. "We open the doors on three. One."

A cold sweat trickled down my spine.

"Two."

Could Fairy Tail have been attacked? Argh! I couldn't think like that, there was no way Natsu would lose to anyone

"Three!"

The door exploded outward as Natsu's body crashed threw it. The dragon slayer was immediately back on his feet, a ferocious grin plastered on his face. "Oi, Icepick, you made me break the door again."

"Humph, it's your own fault for being so annoying." Grey stepped into the doorway.

"Grey, your clothes." MiraJane reminded him as she passed by with a tray.

"Say that again, you darn stripper!" Flames flickered around Natsu's fists.

"You, you killed..." A small voice whimpered.

"Huh?" Natsu looked up. "Oh hi, Levy." He gave her a small wave.

Levy chucked at book at him. "YOU KILLED LU-CHAN!"

Natsu fell back as the book hit him square in the forehead. And of course, that's when he finally noticed me, the person who just happened to be standing right behind the door he sent flying. "Lucy!" He exclaimed with his big cheesy smile. "There you are, we've been waiting for you to get here all morning!"

I pushed the oak door of my body and stood up. "What a pleasant greeting you gave me." I chuckled evilly. Natsu's grin changed to a look of fear. "Natsuuuuuu!"

* * *

"There you are, Lucy." Erza slid down into the seat next to me.

"Morning, Erza." I sipped my tea that MiraJane had so kindly offered me. "Did you pick out our next job yet?"

"There's not very many choices today." Erza sighed unhappily. "Most of them were low paying jobs. There was this one job to take down a group of bandits, but Gajeel grabbed it before I could."

I put down my cup. "It's a good thing I was able to pay my rent last week." I nodded glumly. "But I really wanted to restock on my food supply. Natsu cleaned me out yesterday."

"Speaking of Natsu," Erza's eyes slid over to the side. "Just what happened to those two?"

I glanced at Natsu and Grey who were both sitting in the corner, their arms wrapped around their knees.

"Lucy's scary." I heard Grey mumble to Natsu.

"Yeah." His eyes were still wide.

"They're still upset that I punched them." I turned my attention back to my tea. Erza simply nodded. A moment of silence passed between us.

"It looks like this is going to be a long day." The red haired wizard looked out the window. I closed my eyes and enjoyed feeling of peace.

"Isn't it better this way?" I asked Erza.

Peace, what a calm refreshing word it was. Who knew it could be shattered so easily by the arrival of just one man?

"Hello?" A deep, foreign voice sounded from the door way. "I would have knocked, but your guild seems to be missing a door."

A strange sensation twisted in my gut as I turned to look at the new comer. The sound of his voice was familiar, yet my head told me I've never heard it before in my life. My instincts waved red flags of danger. There was something about this man...

"Who the heck are you?" Natsu, the master of polite greetings, jumped up, completely healed of his I'm-scared-of-Lucy disease.

The man pulled off his hat and bowed deeply in one fluid motion. "My name is Sarden Nightly, and I have come seeking help from you Fairy Tail wizards."

_Sarden... Nightly..._ I'm sure I've heard that name from somewhere.

"Ehhhhh?" Happy sprouted wings and flew to the stranger. "Sardine?"


	2. Sarden's Map

**Sorry guys, I had meant to put an author note on the last chapter, and I could come up with a million excuses to explain why, but the truth is I simply forgot! I give my thanks to all that decided to read my fanfiction, even if it's not very good.**

**Please review!**

* * *

Chapter 2

The Master cracked open an eye to examine the visitor. "It is customary to request our help through an application." He grumbled. "Not a house call."

Sarden pulled up from his bow and turned to address the Master. "I beg your prardon, Master Makarov," He said in a silky smooth voice. "but I felt the personal need to come and ask for your wizard's assistance myself. You see, I have a job I need to see completed, and I feel that the only ones capable of handling such a dangerous job would be Fairy Tail. I am willing to pay one hundred million jewels to the team the takes on my mission."

My tea cup shattered on the ground. _One.. One hundred million jewels?_ I could pay my rent for an entire year, not to mention buy Natsu all the food he could possibly eat! Even the Master look shocked at the amount.

"Goodbye, my brats." He jumped off the counter and put on a hat. "This is a job that I have to take on myself."

The Master was sent flying as Natsu, Grey, Happy, and Erza pushed him out of the way. "Bring in on, Sardine Man!" Natsu exclaimed with fire in his eyes.

"One hundred million jewels? Don't mind if I do." Grey folded his arms over his bare chest.

Happy tugged on the man's sleeve. "Are you really a fish?" He asked.

"Are... Are you really... really going to pay us that much?" Erza stuttered, her eyes wide.

Their conversation shattered my illusion of buying a large house and several bottles of Natsu-and-Happy repellant. My sudden feeling from earlier flashed back to me. "Time!" I held my hands up in a T. "Time!"

Team Natsu gathered around me in an instant. Each one of them had demonic auroras of fierce determination surrounding them.

"What is it, Lucy?" Natsu grinned evilly down at me.

"Didn't you say you wanted a job?" Erza barred her suddenly fanged mouth.

"Calm down." I nervously laughed, sweat beading on my neck. Why did I ever team up with these people in the first place? They were _scary_. "I just have a bad feeling about this guy."

"Oh." Grey returned to normal. "Now that you mention it, he is kind of suspicious."

"You just barely noticed that?" I said sarcastically.

Happy got this big grin on his face. "Lucy liiiiiikes him."

"I do not, you darn cat!" I sent him flying. "It's just," I shuddered. "I just have this feeling that I should trust him about as far as I could throw him."

Natsu poked at my bicep. "That's a problem." He sighed. "Lucy couldn't throw him very far."

Anger puckered my brow. "Why you... Fine, if that's the way you want it, we can take this job."

"Don't worry, Lucy." Erza laid a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It will be fine."

"So you will take my job?" Sarden said from behind me. Another shiver shot up my spine and I whirled around, a hand on my keys. The big man smiled down at me, and I relaxed my a fraction. Take deep breaths, Lucy. You're over reacting.

Natsu cracked his knuckles. "I'm all fired up."

* * *

When we left the guild, the Master was still knocked out. MiraJane assured me that he would be alright, and that Wendy would be back from her solo mission soon to check up on him. Natsu and Erza debated on whether or not we should wait for Wendy to return so she could come too, but in the end Erza decided that this mission could be too dangerous for a little kid. So we left, following Sarden who told us he would explain everything once we got to his mansion.

Sarden's mansion was only a short walk away from the guild, so we traveled on foot. Natsu and Grey fought behind Erza's back, as usual, and Happy soared through the air joyfully munching on a fish.

"That's right!" Sarden paused from telling Erza a tale from his youth. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced."

A stab of guilt hit me. I had been so preoccupied with my growing suspicion of Sarden, that I had forgotten my manners. "No, I don't think we have." I smiled apologetically. "This is Erza Scarlet, or otherwise known as the Titania."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Erza bowed her head respectfully.

"That's Happy," I pointed to the sky. "I'm sorry he called you a fish earlier."

Sarden laughed. "Well, my name does sound like Sardine."

"The two boys behind you are Grey Fullbuster and Natsu Dragoneel." I glanced back. "Grey has a little problem with stripping, but don't take it personally." The said person was once again shirtless, even though he had left the guild wearing a jacket.

Grey paused from his never ending fight with Natsu to look down at his bare chest in surprise.

"And I guess that you could say that Natsu is our guild's idiot." I smiled cheefully.

"Hey!" Natsu pouted.

I sent him a death glare. "If you want me to say nice things about you, then quit pissing me off!"

"Aye Aye sir!" Grey and Natsu slung their arms over each others shoulders, their faces completely terrified.

"Lucy's turning into the second Erza." The fish dropped from Happy's mouth.

"My name's Lucy Heartfillia." I turned to Sarden, even though warning bells rang every time I looked at him.

"Heartfillia?" Sarden's face turned shocked. "No wonder I thought I recognized your face! I was a great friend of your father's, and was deeply saddened to hear of his passing."

"He left a large hole with his death." I agreed. I narrowed my eyes when he looked away from me. Maybe that's where I was getting this uneasy feeling from. Papa never had any friends. He had rivals, and enemies.

* * *

"Kera-chin!" Sarden called as soon as we stepped into the foyer of his mansion. A small, pale maid appeared in the doorway of the sitting room. "Can you prepare some beverages for our guests?"

The slim girl nodded and disappeared wordlessly.

"You'll have to forgive my maid." Sarden hung his hat up. "She's been a mute ever since she was born."

"It fine." Erza said graciously. I remained quiet. What grown man would give a girl a cute nickname like chin? It only added to my wariness.

Kera served us tea in the sitting room and left as soundlessly as she came.

"Shall we get down to business then?" Sarden put his cup down. We followed his example and put our cups down as well, everyone except for Natsu who kept nosily gulping down his drink.

"I need you to find a map, though find is not a good enough word. I need you to retrieve a map." Sarden started. "It was stolen from me by a group of bandits who attacked me while I was traveling on the road."

"What kind of map was it?" Erza questioned.

Sarden leaned in close. "I heard a rumor one day while I was enjoying myself at the pub. This one drunk guy was shouting about a man who supposedly had a map to the legendary hatching grounds."

"Hatching grounds?" Happy was confused. "Hatching of what?"

Sarden's lips pulled into a grin. "Dragons."

This caught Natsu's attention more than anything else Sarden had said that day. "Do you think there could be a clue about Igneel there?"

"Let the man finish." Erza held out her hand to stop Natsu's endless questions.

Sarden pulled a picture of a man out from his breast pocket. The man had long shaggy black hair and a scar running down the length of his face. "I have always been a big fan of dragons, so I hunted down this man immediately. His name is Garthen Vook, and was a rather slippery fellow to catch. But when I did, I offered to take the map off his hands for a large sum of money. He was more than eager. Whether it be a real map or a fake, I just had to find out for myself. But unfortunately, it was stolen from me on my way home."

I glanced at Natsu's puppy face he always had on whenever he got supper excited. My premonitions or not, we were defiantly taking this job.


	3. Hunting for Bandits

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Fairy Tail**

* * *

The forest was hot and stuffy, full of disgusting bugs. Another mosquito landed on my arm and I swatted it away. There were too many bugs.

"Natsu," Happy swatted a beetle with his tail. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Natsu glanced up and sniffed the air. "Yeah, their scents are defiantly leading in this direction."

"Let's just hope we find them before we get eaten alive." Grey said. He too must have been perturbed by the large quantity of bugs living in this forest, for he still had his clothes on.

We had been traveling for about a week and a half, tracking the bandits that had robbed Sarden. Natsu had been ecstatic about possibly finding a clue about Igneel, and so far his energy had not worn off. But I was less than so. There was one thing that I've kept hidden from the rest of Team Natsu. Not once in all of my research, in any of the books I've read, have I come across any information about a Hatching Ground for Dragons. If it was as infamous as Sarden made it out to be, then I should have come across something, even if it was a brief mention. I've racked my brains over and over again, but I came up empty each time.

Still, part of me hoped that they did exist for Natsu's sake. The way his face lit up when he talked about the possibility of finding Igneel made my heart twist. How would he react if this turned out to be a big lie? How would I react if he got depressed? I wouldn't be able to bear it.

There was one thing I've come to realize, living at Fairy Tail these past couple of years. I had fallen in love. I didn't want to accept it at first, the fact that I had fallen hard for the salmon haired, goofy idiot of a Dragon Slayer, but the harder I tried to resist it, the more I fell. It was a one sided love, me loving someone who would never love me back. Natsu had already promised himself to Lisanna.

I hid my feeling for him by insulting him when I longed to pull him into my arms. When he smiled at me, my heart fluttered, when he took my hand I never wanted to let go, just being around him made me happy.

Natsu's excited yelling broke me from my thoughts. "I can smell them!" He pointed towards a cave in the cliff outlining the forest. "They're in there!"

Erza equipped a long sword with a bejeweled handle. "No time to make a plan!" She shouted to Natsu. "Just charge them and try to find the map!"

"Aye Aye Sir!" Happy and Natsu sprinted towards the mouth of the cave, Natsu's fist aflame.

"Lucy, you stay out here just in case one of them escapes." Erza instructed me.

"Sure thing." I sighed. It was always nice to stay out of the center of fighting. Sounds of battle soon sounded from the cave. I hid myself in a crevice in the rock, just to the side so I could see if anyone ran out.

There was a cry, and a scruffy looking man with long black hair and a scar running down his face was thrown onto the ground a few meters from the entrance. Wait, I furrowed my eyebrows together. Wasn't he the man from the picture, the one that had sold Sarden the map? Garthen Vook I believe his name was. I caught a glimpse of a scroll of paper secured in his arms as he began to run.

"Wait, stop!" I called out a second too late. I swore under my breath and began chasing after him. "Open, gate of the horse! Sagittarius!"

"Hello! What can I do for you?" Sagittarius caught up to my pace.

"Shoot him down!" I gestured to the person running away from us. "But don't kill him!"

"Sure thing, Miss Lucy. Hello!" Sagittarius drew his bow string back. Two arrows were fired. Garthen yelped in surprise as the arrows caught the sleeve of his shirt and a leg of his pants, pinning him to the tree behind him.

What do you want?" Garthen snarled as I ran up to him. "Are you trying to steal my map as well?"

"Steal? No, I'm trying to get it back!" I closed Sagittarius's gate. "Your the one stole it!" Or sold it, I should say.

"Why would I want to steal my own map?" Garthen spat at me. Then a spark of fear shone in his eyes. "Wait, are you working for him? Sarden Nightly?"

Uh-oh. I knew there was something wrong with him. "You mean, you didn't sell that map to Sarden?" I asked quietly.

"There's no way I would sell my mother's map to that evil man." Garthen shivered with anger. "He attacked me in an attempt to rob it! I barely escaped with my life!"

I grabbed the arrow stuck in Garthen's shirt and yanked it out. "You have to tell me," I said as I reached down for the second arrow. "is that really a map to the Dragon's Hatching Grounds?"

I heard him grunt. Something wet dripped down onto my hand. Blood. I screamed and recoiled. Garthen's eyes were dim with death as he gazed fearfully in front of him. A dagger stuck out of his chest, right where his heart was. Slowly, I turned around.

"Sorry, Lucy-chan." Sarden smiled sweetly at me. "I'm afraid I can't let you know that."


	4. The capture of Lucy

**Important message at the bottom, make sure that you read it!**

* * *

Do not let him see your fear. I tried matching his sickly sweet smile. "I knew that there was something wrong with you from the beginning."

"Then you should have never taken my job." Sarden smirked. My eyes were drawn to the second dagger in his hand, the one pointed directly at me. "You could have saved you and your friends from an untimely death."

Distract him. "Are you saying that you're going to kill them? Good luck with that. Grey, Erza, and Natsu are stronger than you might think." I said carefully while inching my fingers towards my whip.

Sarden started laughing. "Everyone has a breaking point."

I flashed out my whip and it coiled around the knife in his hands like a snake. With a flick of my wrist, I yanked it out of his grip and started sprinting.

"Why, you..." Sarden growled.

"LUCY KICK!" My foot smashed into his face, then I was back on the ground, running for my life. I had to go find Natsu, had to go warn him. I didn't know what Sarden's real objective was, but it wasn't in our favor. If I could study the map, I could maybe find out where it really lead to. The map. The map I didn't have in my arms. Oh darn it all, I had forgotten to grab it! I glanced over my shoulder, expecting Sarden to be chasing after me with a fury.

I stopped in my tracks. There was no one there. I was torn. Do I go back to see if the map was still there? Or do I go warn Natsu? Shaking my head, I continued running forward, Natsu came first no matter what.

Sounds of battle soon reached my ears. "Natsu!" I yelled as I jumped out into the clearing by the cave. My eyes widened. Nearly one hundred wizards filled up the space. Natsu, Grey, Erza and Happy were backed up into a corner, their back sides surrounded by rocks, their fronts by an overwhelming number of soldiers. What was going on? There was only suppose to be around fifteen bandits, according to... According to Sarden. My mouth pulled down into a snarl.

I grabbed my keys, ready to fight my way over to my team. "Open! Gate of the-"

Strong hands pinned my arms down to my sides, making me drop my keys. "That would be a bad idea, Lucy-chan." Sarden purred in my ear.

"Let go of me!" I struggled against his grip. "Natsu!"

"He can't hear you." Sarden massaged my upper arms with his thumbs. "Nobody is coming to save you, and you can't go save them."

Tears prickled in my eyes. I would not cry, not here not now.

"Is this the girl?" A light, easy going sounding voice said.

"Master." Sarden's deep voice lowered with respect. "Yes, this is Lucy Heartfillia."

Leaves crunched underneath feet. A deep fear twisted my insides into knots and thickened in my throat. I wanted to scream and run away.

"Hello, Lucy." Sarden's master stepped out in front of me.

A moment passed before a small cry escaped from my mouth. No. It couldn't be.

The man softly smiled. "It seems that you do recognize me after all. Oh good, I was afraid that I was going to have to remind you."

"Enrod Argile." The name popped out from the back of my memory. This was the man, the man who ruined my Papa by buying out the Heartfillia company. I remembered as a young girl watching people leave our house from one of Papa's business meetings.

"Look, Lucy." Papa would turn my head to look at two men. "He is our biggest rival, Enrod Argile. If he, or his personal assistant, Sarden Nightly, ever try to talk to you, come and tell Papa right away."

I stomped down on Sarden's foot, digging my heel into his flesh. He let go of me with a cry of pain. I pushed Enrod out of the way and sprinted towards my team. Thing were getting more confusing by the second, and nothing made sense anymore.

"Natsu!" I screamed and pushed my way through the throng of people.

"Lucy!" I heard his voice yell back. Where was he? I twisted and turned in the crowd. I couldn't see him. Where was he! Panic shot through me and I had to swallow it back down. Panic was fatal in a fight.

"Natsu!" I screamed again. I thought I saw a flash of pink to my right. Relief flooded my brain and calmed my heart. I squirmed past a body and came face to face with Kera, Sarden's maid. Her straight black hair fell over her emotionless dark eyes. With slow movements, she lifted her hand and pointed it straight at my chest. Something sharp pierced my shoulder, just bellow the collar bone.

Black dots swarmed in my vision as I glanced down to see crimson red. I dimly heard Sarden tell Kera that she did a good job before I fainted.

* * *

My head pounded against my skull like it was trying to break out. I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I was in a stone cell. I tried to put my hand to my forehead, but my wrists were bound to the wall with steal cuffs. An iron chain tied my ankles together.

"You're awake, Lucy-chan!"

I glanced up sharply, sending an arrow of pain through my head. Sarden stood a few feet in front of me.

"Where's Enrod? What happened to Natsu and the others?" The questions spilled out of me.

"Do you really want to know?" Sarden's tone scared me.

"Tell me what happened." I demanded.

"There were too many of the enemy." He said gleefully. "So your friend, Erza-chan, ordered a retreat."

"She wouldn't do that."

"She did, and guess what, Lucy-chan!" Sarden stepped forward and leaned in close. "They saw you go down, but chose to retreat anyway. They abandoned you!"

"Natsu wouldn't do that." My breath came out in short gasps. Sarden rolled his eyes and moved away.

"She wouldn't do that, he wouldn't do this!" He exclaimed. "Honestly, do really think you know your nakama that well?"

I was shaking. "ALL YOU'VE BEEN DOING IS LYING TO US!" I yelled. "WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU NOW?" Wetness dribbled down my cheeks. Why was I crying? I had faith in them.

"I suppose you're right." Sarden shrugged. "There's nothing I can do to make you believe me."

I waited until I had stopped shaking before speaking. "What do you want, what's your goal? Are you really looking for the Hatching Grounds?"

"So many questions." Sarden sighed. "But I guess I can answer them. No, we are not really looking for the Hatching Grounds. That lie was to entice your little Dragon Slayer friend. This map," He pulled out the scroll of paper from an inside pocket of his jacket. "leads to a place called the Blood Forest."

"The Blood Forest?" I asked in shock.

"So you've heard of it? Yes, we are searching for the Blood Forest, the one place where magic is so strong that you can breath it in. It is rumored that whoever goes into the Blood Forest comes out ten times stronger than when he went in." Sarden tapped the map with his fingers.

"Why?" My voice came out in a whisper. I had read many tales about the Blood Forest. Many claimed it to be the starting point of all magic, the birthplace of the first wizard.

"For revenge." The to the cell creaked open. Enrod stepped in. "Revenge against you, Lucy Heartfillia, and all the wrongs you've done to me."

* * *

**Next chapter is going to be written in third person, and is going to be about Team Natsu. Sorry to all those who want to read more about Lucy's problem! You're going to have to wait.**


	5. To Anger a Dragon Slayer

**Wow, two chapters in one day. I guess I'm on a roll. Hope that this makes at least a few of you happy!**

* * *

"Natsu!" She screamed out his name. Natsu's head shot up.

"Lucy!" He called back, taking down another five guys. Lucy was gone when their battle broke outside. Her scent lead into the woods, but he didn't have enough time to go after her before they were ambushed by a surprising number of the opposing force.

"Natsu!" Lucy's voice was thick with terror as she called out his name once more. And then... her scent disappeared.

With a roar of rage, Natsu brought down all the opponents in front of him. "Where are you, Lucy?" The blond wizard was nowhere in sight. Natsu growled in the back of his throat. Nobody better have done anything to his Lucy.

"Oi, Natsu." A hand pressed down on his shoulder. Natsu whipped around, expecting to see Lucy, but it was only Erza. "What happened, where's Lucy?" She demanded.

"I don't know." He ground his teeth together in frustration. "One moment she was yelling my name, the next she had vanished."

"Well, those people were astonishingly weak." Grey walked up.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Grey glared at him. "You didn't even do anything."

"How rude!" Happy steamed. "I hit this one guy on the head, and then I stole this other guy's sword-"

"Wait, where's Lucy?" Grey cut of the cat. Natsu balled his fists, fire burning in his eyes.

"I saw what happened." A voice from behind them said solemnly.

The group whirled around. "Sarden?" They said in unison. (Well, Natsu and Happy said Sardine-man, but that doesn't really matter.)

"Why are you here?" Erza questioned.

Sarden bowed his head. "I could not wait for you to return, so I ended up following from a distance."

"That's not important." Natsu waved his hand angrily. "You said that you know what happened to Lucy? Where is she?"

Sarden put his hand in his pocket and withdrew a ring of blood stained keys. Lucy's keys. "She was kidnapped." He whispered. "I saw her run after the bandit that had my map. She managed to get the map back, but was ambushed by a group of people also searching for the Hatching Grounds. Well, no. It seems that I have failed you, Natsu-kun. It was not a map for the Hatching Grounds, but a map for a place called the Blood Forest."

"Lucy was... kidnapped?" Natsu's face paled. He gingerly took her keys and sniffed them. His eyes narrowed and he suddenly bounded off.

"Wait, Natsu!" Erza chased after him. She found him kneeling over a large pool of blood, holding what looked like a piece of Lucy's shirt.

"They hurt Lucy." Natsu's voice was full of anger and desperation. "I won't forgive them. I'm going to kill them!" He banged his fists on the ground over and over again.

"Natsu." Happy whimpered.

"Which direction did they go?" Grey turned to Sarden. His voice was clipped and cold, his eyes narrowed and filled with rage.

"Probably in the direction of the Blood Forest." Sarden was thoughtful.

"Natsu," Erza knelt down by him. "Do you think you could track them with your nose?"

"There's too many scents." Natsu shook his head. "I can't pinpoint any."

Erza closed her eyes and gulped. It was risky, but she could think of no other way to find them. She was just worried about how Natsu would react. "Then, could you maybe finding them by using the scent of Lucy's blood?"

Natsu grew still. "Yeah." He finally growled. "It's still fresh."

Standing up, Erza reequipped her armor to what she usually wore. "What are you waiting for?" She asked the crying Happy and the silent Grey. "Let's go save Lucy. And," Her face darkened. "kill all those who dared to hurt her."

* * *

"Darn it!" Natsu yelled to the sky.

"What happened?" Happy landed on Natsu's back.

"It's gone." He fumed. "The scent's gone!"

"Was it all for nothing?" Erza stabbed her sword deep in the earth.

Sarden, who tagged along scanned the area. "Wait, what's that?" He pointed to a piece of paper stabbed onto a tree.

Grey pulled out the knife then unrolled the paper. "It's the map!"

"Eh? They're giving us the map? But why?" Erza joined Grey.

"Look, there's a note written at the bottom." Grey pointed to a paragraph of scrawl. "Dear Fairy Tail wizards, we seem to have come to a stand off. We have something you want, and you can do something we want. So let's make a deal. You find the Blood Forest for us, and we will give you back Lucy Heartfillia-sama."

"A ransom note." Erza frowned.

"There's more." Grey read on. His face turned into a terrifying scowl of anger. "To Dragon Slayer Natsu," He said through his teeth. "we leave you a present. Hopefully this will make you want to hurry up and fulfill our wishes. We can not grantee the safety of your friend for much longer."

He passed Natsu the map. Underneath the ransom note was the words 'Help Me' written in blood. Slowly, Natsu held it up to his nose. "It's Lucy's."

* * *

Sarden approached a tent and slipped through the flap. "Every thing is going according to plan, Master Enrod." He bowed.

"Good, good." Enrod stroked his beard.

"So, I am curious, how did you make her write that?" Sarden glanced over at the limp body of Lucy lying in the corner of the tent.

"Wasn't that hard. Kera knocked her out and did it for her." Enrod stood up and walked to a window in the tent. They had moved from their base so that they could follow after the Fairy Tail wizards as they searched for the Blood Forest.

"I have to admit that I was surprised that you gave them the map."

"Why do the hard work when you can have someone else do it for you?" Enrod grinned menacingly. "Besides, I love messing with people's strong bonds. It's fun to see what lengths a person will go to save a person they care for."

Lucy groaned. "Natsu... don't..." She said in her sleep. Enrod sent her a nasty glare.

"I don't understand." He kicked her in the side. "Why is this person so loved by her nakama? This filth is not worthy of their feelings! How can this person be so happy while I am not?" He whirled around to face Sarden. "She snatched everything away from me, stole all the people I love from my arms, and destroyed it all. So how can she still smile?"

Saden placed a hand on his shoulder to calm his rage. "Don't worry Master, we will make her watch as we strip away all the things she longs for."

Just you wait Lucy Heartfillia. We will make you feel Hell.

* * *

**Why does Enrod have such a deep grudge against Lucy? All is revealed next chapter!**


	6. The Grief of a Father

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I was busier than usual. I forgot to mention this in the previous chapters, but thanks to all those who reviewed my story! I love reading what you people have to say, and it would make my day if even more people would review. I was a bit high off of candy while writing this chapter, so my writing style may be a tad bit different from usual, just warning ya.**

* * *

Was I dead? That was an excellent question, one that I will have to think about before answering. I couldn't feel my limbs. Well, I did sort of tell Sarden he could rip me limb from limb before I gave anything away about my friends. It would be technically my fault if he took me seriously. I didn't know if my eyes were open or not, it was so dark. An inky blackness surrounded me, almost as if I was swimming in it. Could someone hear their own heart beat? I needed some way to confirm if I had drifted off into the land of the dead.

"Lucy." Someone said my name, or I thought someone did. I could be going crazy. Yes, that was certainly possible. Can a dead person go insane?

"You have to wake up now." The voice told me. But I don't want to. I thought sourly. This place was rather comfortable, just floating around in nothing. No worries, no more pain.

"Natsu's waiting for you."

Alright, I'm going.

But how did I wake up, if I really was sleeping? Like I said, I could be dead.

"Follow the light." In the distance, a soft yellow dot began to grow. Ooh pretty, I liked light now that I think about it. I didn't know how I would move, but the light started coming towards me. How convenient. It grew larger and brighter as it came closer. It hurt my eyes, but I couldn't look away. I guess that means that my eyes were open.

The light touched me, and I expected it to burn, but it didn't. It was warm and comforting, like when Natsu hugged me. A slight smile touched my lips before it completely swallowed me.

* * *

"Oh good, she's still alive." A voice said above me. I cracked open my eye, but only just a bit. It wasn't Natsu liked I hoped it would be. I closed my eye again. Okay, darkness, take me back.

Enrod grabbed my arm and pulled me onto my feet, forcing me to open both eyes. I was still pissed at him for being there when I awoke instead of Natsu. I sent him a glare that could kill demons and he smacked me, which pissed me off even more. Grrr, ticked off Lucy coming through. World, watch out.

For some odd reason, I couldn't feel any of my wounds, though I had many and some of them could possibly be life threatening if they weren't taken care of soon. I was rejuvenated, like a new person. That Natsu-like light must have done something to me, something wonderful.

"You almost died on us." Enrod informed me. "I guess Kera went too hard on you last night..." Blah blah blah, I don't care. I tuned him out and started scanning the area in search of a way to escape. Now that I wasn't drugged, tired, and hung up on a wall like a decoration, there was a possibility of getting out of here. We were in a tent, it had one flap and two sealed up windows. I could see the shadows of two people standing guard outside. One was a large man, and the other a slim girl. Must be Sarden and Kera. My chances looked bleak, but hey, bleak was better than impossible.

Just then Enrod said something along the lines of 'and then your little Dragon Slaying friends did this.', so I tuned him back in.

"You would be surprised." He sneered. "You only have to threaten the life of a love one to have them twisted around your finger, waiting at your beck and call."

"What did you do to Natsu?" It was the first time I had spoken, and I was surprised at how strong I sounded.

"Not just to Natsu, but to all of your friends." He let go of me and strode over to his chair. It looked like a throne that a king might sit on. A throne in a tent. How fitting. "They are searching for the Blood Forest so that I can stay here and rest comfortably. Of course, they are doing this on the promise that I'll give you back once they find it. I'm almost kind of sorry that I will have to disappoint them." His voice was like poison. It stung your ears and made you want to run to find the antidote.

"So you have no intention of returning me alive." I sat down on the ground, there wasn't a tarp at the bottom. "That is so typical of a madman."

He leered down at me. "You would be mad too, if you have experienced all that I have. All that you've put me through, Lucy."

I raised my eyebrow at him, or well I tried to, both eyebrows came up against my bidding. Raising one eyebrow always gave the sarcastic 'are you freaking kidding me' effect, but I have never been able to master it. "I've only met you one or twice as a little girl, and you expect me to believe that I've ruined your life? What did I do? Stomp on your toes? Call you a meanie while sticking my out my tongue?"

"Lucy." He sighed and placed his chin on intertwined fingers. "You've done so much more than that."

"Oh!" I said with mock remembrance. "You must have been the poor fellow who owned the pair of expensive shoes that buried in the back yard! I profusely apologize."

He did not find my humor all that funny.

His dark look suggested it would be wise for me to take this conversation seriously. I glanced at the two shadows outside and the man inside. Maybe it was a wise decision after all. With more than a little reluctance, I shut my mouth.

"I had a son." Enrod started. Well that's cool, very melodramatic. Someone should start playing sad music. Stop it, Lucy. You promised to stop cracking jokes. "My wife had always been very sickly and her body could not handle the stress of giving birth to a child. She died a couple minutes after successfully giving me my son. I loved him more than anything in this world, but he too was born with a weak body. I did everything I could for him, and he grew up a nice boy."

His eyes grew distant and cloudy. "Then one day he came home excited from a dance. He told me that he had met this beautiful girl, and he had even asked her to dance. I was happy for him, seeing as he was a shy boy and awkward around women as most teenagers are. He went to the next couple of dances, always coming home to shower me with tales of this wonderful girl.

"Then one night, I found him alone in the garden, staring up at the stars. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me that he was in love. He was in love with the girl he had only met a few times. Wanting to help him along, I went to the girls father to arrange a marriage between my son and his daughter. The plans went smoothly, and I told my son. I could tell from his eyes that that was the happiest moment in his life."

Enrod gripped the wood of his chair so hard that his knuckles turned white and the skin began to crack. "A few days after our agreement, the daughter suddenly ran away. That's right, Lucy." His eyes peered down at me with such harshness that I wanted to hide. "This happened shortly before you went off to join that nasty guild, Fairy Tail. My son immediately went to go search for you. He came back depressed. He said that he saw you with your new friends, and you looked so happy that he couldn't bear to drag you away from them.

"I was busy trying to comfort my son, and I accidentally let my stocks drop. We lost money, a lot of money. In a flash, your father cut off our arrangement and began searching for the next richest suitor. Can you imagine how my son felt?"

I didn't answer, too horrified to work my mouth. Papa never told me about any arranged marriages. My mind flashed to all the boys I danced with at the balls I was forced to attend. I stopped at the image of a pale, quiet boy with large blue eyes. "Ethan." I whispered. It was true I only met him a few times, but he was a nice person. I genuinely liked him.

"Yes. That was his name." Enrod slid his head down into the palms of his hands. "Ethan loved you, Lucy. Loved you more than anything in the world. After he found out about your father's decision to cut off the wedding, he... he..." Enrod swallowed. "Hung himself."

I went cold.

Enrod laughed bitterly. "All I could think of was revenge. Revenge against the people that caused his death. I started out by buying out your father's company. I sent him out into the streets, I made him live like a peasant. But it wasn't enough. My thirst for revenge could not be satisfied. So I sent out to kill you, and all your friends that caused my son to feel such grief. But, I was too late. You had apparently died on that island when the dragon attacked. There was nothing I could do, but live a twisted life.

"Seven years later," He stood up and I shivered with fear. "you came back, alive. I praised the heavens. You were alive! That meant that I could now kill you myself. And I promise you, Lucy, I am going to kill you so slowly that you will be begging for death hours before you actually die. But first, I'm going to make you watch as I kill your precious friends right in front of your eyes."

His eyes gleamed with insanity. He smiled in such a way that would have made the devil himself scurry back to his cave. Maybe I deserved death, but not Natsu and the others. What kind of mess did I drag them into this time? I glanced down at my belt, wondering what key I could use to free myself. My keys were gone. That's right, I dropped them when Sarden had grabbed me.

Shoot. Aquarius was going to strangle me.


	7. Just You Watch Me

**Sorry for the late update. I got really sick and my parents took away my laptop. Apparently, sleep is more important than writing when you're sick. Sigh. Well, I'm better now! I'll try to go back to updating daily, but ya know, life sometimes gets busy. Or you fall ill.**

* * *

"They're taking too long." Enrod growled as he paced back and forth. I wished he would just stop already, his pacing was making me motion sick. But I was unfortunately the prisoner of this madman, and I had no say on how he should take out his frustration. "I mean, how hard is it to follow a map? They should have found it by now!"

"Wasn't that the reason why you gave them the map in the first place?" Sarden asked, amusement glittering in his eyes. "Because you couldn't figure out how to read it?"

Enrod sent him a nasty glare and continued his pacing.

"So," I tried my hand at talking to him. "What exactly are you planning on doing once you find the Blood Forest? And, if I may put in my own remarks, if the Blood Forest was really that easy to find, why hasn't someone found it already?"

"I have the map." Enrod muttered, not really speaking to me. "You just follow the map, simple and easy enough to do."

"Have you ever considered that the map could be a fake?" I asked. "I mean, the existence of the Blood Forest is already just speculation. It's not that hard to believe that it is nothing more than a mere legend."

"Will you just shut up already?" Enrod roared at me. I took a glance at Kera who was sitting down in the corner of the tent, silent as always. On the first day I discovered that the three of them were all mages, but Kera's magic was the only one I couldn't figure out.

Sarden used Take Over magic just like Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna, but instead of monsters he took over the bodies of regular animals. So far, I've seen him transform into a cheetah and a bear. I think that is how he got rid of my scent before returning to check up on my friends. I wondered how they didn't find the fact that he kept disappearing and reappearing at all suspicious. Well Natsu and maybe Grey were that dense, but Erza? Really?

Natsu, will I ever see you again? I tilted my head back so that it touched the canvas of the tent. It wasn't that great of a support, but it made do. I missed him so much that it sometimes felt like my heart was splitting in two. How did I ever fall for him? Why didn't I ever try to tell him? Why did I automatically assume that Natsu and Lisanna had promised themselves to each other after hearing their story? Why was I such a big idiot? Too many questions, and not enough answers. Well, there may be an answer to the last one.

Enrod's sudden movement forced me to return my attention to him. He flicked his hand towards me, and a almost see-through cord shot out of his palm and wrapped around my waist. With a second flick of his hand, I was yanked across the room. He caught me by the throat and began to squeeze. I felt my airways constrict, but I refused to panic. Enrod did this occasionally, and he would always let go before I suffocated. The only thing I was worried about was how many brain cells I was loosing.

"Tell me, Lucy." He said through his teeth. "What can I do to 'motivate' your friends into working harder?"

I clamped my mouth closed, my jaw hurting as I firmly pressed my teeth together. Go ahead and kill me, but I will say nothing to the likes of you.

Enrod's magic was a bit harder to figure out, but after a while I decided that it was most likely Binding magic. He could bind himself to anything that the cords that shot out of his hands connected with. I've seen him pull things across the room. And one time when he got extremely annoyed with Sarden, he bound him with his magic string and started draining his magic.

That led me to my theory about why he wanted to find the Blood Forest. If he could connect himself to anything, then he could essentially bind himself to the forest and drain its magic. And seeing as the Blood Forest was the largest source of magic anywhere, it would make him more powerful than anyone alive. But why would someone want all that power?

_Sent out to find you, and all your friends that made my son feel such grief._ Enrod's words flashed through my mind. Was this another part of his grand scheme of revenge?

Black dots had started to swarm my vision before Enrod released me. I crumbled to the ground, coughing weakly.

"Fine then." Enrod turned away. "The Blood Forest doesn't matter as long as I can kill you and your friends."

"Awe, are you worried?" I coughed, but still managed to give him a sarcastic smile. "Have you finally realized how much stronger my friends are than you?"

Enrod's boot caught my side, sending me flying through the tent flap. I blinked as I saw the sun. How many days has it been since I've last seen the sun? My vision of it was interrupted as Enrod loomed over me.

"Just how long are you going to mock me, Lucy?" He hissed.

"As long as it takes for you to realize that I won't let you kill my nakama." I hissed right back.

Enrod threw his hands up into the air. "The world isn't that kind! You can not go into a battle expecting that your side will always prevail, Lucy! Just because you will it to be so doesn't mean that it will happen. People die, and that' a fact. You can not save everyone!"

I sent him a challenging grin. "Oh yeah? Just you watch me."

* * *

A couple of hours earlier

"How long do you think Natsu is going to keep staring at that map?" Grey asked Erza quietly. The two of them sent a quick glance at the Dragon Slayer. He was laying flat on his back, holding the map out in front of him as he studied the ransom not over and over again.

"He's worried about Lucy." Erza fiddled with a piece of grass.

Grey frowned. "I'm worried about Lucy too, but Natsu is taking this to a whole other level."

"Natus is very protective of Lucy." Happy was drawing on the ground with a stick, his eyes down cast. "Because he likes her."

He didn't roll the word on his tongue like usual, and his voice was serious. The two wizards started at him for a moment before sighing.

"I figured as much." Grey rubbed his neck. Natsu and Lucy were the best of friends, yet the way they looked at each other when the other one was looking away always suggested that they felt something more.

"I heard from Mira that Lucy liked Natsu, but to think that he liked her back..." Erza trailed off.

"He's afraid of rejection." Happy gave up drawing. "He thinks that Lucy only thinks of him as a friend, and doesn't want to ruin their relationship by confessing. I've tried to tell him that Lucy likes him as well, but he doesn't believe me."

Grey snorted. "Idiots will be idiots. Relationships are way too complicated for my tastes."

"Oh?" Erza gave him the evil smile. "Shall I tell Juvia what you just said?"

Grey blushed and looked away.

Suddenly Natsu jumped up. "I think I've found something!" He rushed over to them, excitedly waving the map around.

"What is it?" Erza stood up. Natsu pointed to a spot on the paper.

"Don't you think this looks like that...?

"It does!" Happy exclaimed from his perch on Natsu's shoulder.

"Well, that makes sense." A grin curled Grey's lips.

Erza rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose that could have happened. This map's really old after all."

Natsu's face turned serious, and a small growl escaped his throat. "So, now that we've figured it out, shouldn't we take care of _that_?"

"Yeah." A sword appeared in Erza's hand as she equipped into her empress armor. "Let's go find Sarden Nightly, and make him pay for kidnapping Lucy."

* * *

**They weren't fooled at all! But, will they be able to rescue Lucy in time?**


	8. Grey vs Kera

Darn these ropes, and darn myself for not having the strength to break them. If Natsu were here, he could break them with his bare hands. But I not Natsu, I am Lucy. Oh what I would give to be somebody else at this moment. Grey, Erza, Happy... Scratch that, not Happy. Anybody but Happy.

"Watch you do what?" Enrod said from above me, a shadow cast over his face. "Die?"

I chuckled nervously. "Um, no. That's a bad idea." What the heck are you doing, Lucy? Get your act together!

Enrod grabbed a rock with his magic and swung it towards my head. I yelped and narrowly dodged it.

"No!" I cried out as I squirmed away while Enrod continuously tried to smash my skull in.

"I've had enough of your sass." Enrod raged. "I'm not waiting until your friends find the Blood Forest for me, I'm going to kill you now." With a flick of his hand, he raised the rock into the air for the final blow. There was a sudden gush of wind and clang of metal against rock sounded.

"Erza!" I named my savior with a rush of joy.

"We've come to save you, Lucy." Erza looked back at me and smiled.

"Fairy Tail!" Enrod jumped back. "But how?"

A familiar strong hand clamped on my shoulder, and I felt heat on my hands as the ropes that bound me were burned away. "Natsu." I looked at him with tears running down my cheeks. His eyes were as friendly as ever as he pulled me into a hug. His pink hair tickled my forehead and I could feel his muscular body through his shirt.

"I'm sorry that I let you get hurt." There was pain in his voice. "But don't worry, I'm not going to let them hurt you again."

I grabbed his shirt and buried my head into his chest, sobbing. "Natsu, thanks." Don't ever let me go.

"Lucy..." Happy said worriedly as he tugged on the remains of my shirt. I reluctantly let go of Natsu and he helped me up onto my feet.

"Boy, they really did a number on you." Grey looked me up and down with anger burning in his eyes.

Natsu pulled me behind him. "Yeah, and we're going to make them pay for that, a hundred times over."

"Fairy Tail." Enrod seethed. Sarden and Kera had joined him. "How did you find us?"

"You really thought that you could fool us?" Erza pointed her sword at Enrod. "We figured Sarden was a traitor the moment he showed up with Lucy's keys."

"I smelled your scent along with your maid, Kera, and some other strange man on them." Natsu cracked his knuckles.

"And don't you think that Sarden disappearing and reappearing was just too suspicious? Not to mention that Natsu said that he could faintly smell Lucy on you each time you came back." Grey had some how stripped himself of his shirt during the process of speaking.

"But we decided to play along with your poorly made game so that we could figure out what you were after." Happy said as he sprouted wings and began to fly. "Lucy, here's your keys." He handed me my ring of keys. "They got dirty, but Natsu washed them for you."

I took a peek at the Dragon Slayer, but his face remained emotionless. I smiled a little and blushed.

"Sarden, Kera." Enrod said slowly. "Kill them."

"Take Over! Cheetah!" Sarden transformed at started sprinting towards us. Erza slashed at him.

"Wait!" She yelled as he changed directions and began running towards the trees.

Kera raised her hand towards Grey and he groaned in pain as an invisible force slammed into him.

"Careful, Grey!" I called out. "Her magic is super weird!"

"You don't have time to be worrying about others." Enrod's magic cord wrapped around my middle. We shot up to the sky as he used his other hand to connect himself to a tall tree.

"Lucy!" Natsu began bounding after us.

"Natsu!"

* * *

What the heck is this girl's ability? Grey wondered as he charged towards Kera, an ice spear in his hands. The breath was knocked out of him as once again ran into an invisible wall. Sometimes he was smacked around, and sometimes sharp objects pierced his flesh, but each time he could not see what had attacked him.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Kera flick her finger in his direction. "Ice Make Shield!" He pounded his hands together. A crack spider webbed across the ice as it blocked the unseen missle.

"Ice Make Cannon!" He didn't waste anytime attacking her. His attack exploded at Kera's feet and sent her flying. "So, you're not invisible after all." Grey swung the block of ice onto his shoulder.

The silent girl shakily got up on her feet. Before she could relatiate, Grey attacked again.

Blood dripped down from Kera's forehead as she stood up again. From under her black hair, Grey could see her dark eyes glaring at him. He glanced around, from what direction would her next attack come from?

"Ice Make-" Grey was cut off as his side exploded with pain. Warm liquid began trickling down from his wound. With a moan, he fell to his knees.

Kera walked up to him, with her hand raised in the air. With a murderous grin, she brought it down. Blood flew out of Grey's mouth as something large and heavy smashed into his back.

"Does it hurt?" Kera knelt down by him.

"You... I thought you were mute." Grey coughed.

"Not surprising." She smirked. "I'm such a brilliant actress after all."

Grey dug his hands into the earth and began trying to push himself up. What ever it was on his back refused to budge and continued to pin him to the ground. He gritted his teeth and glanced around for some kind of clue. That's when he noticed it. A spot of crimson blood floated two feet in the air. His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath.

"It hurts, doesn't it." Kera laughed. "Well, sorry to tell you, but this is only a fraction of the pain I made Lucy Heartfilia feel."

Grey felt his blood run cold, almost unheard of for an ice wizard. "You were the one who hurt Lucy?" He growled.

Kera laughed even louder. "That's right! You should have heard her scream, it's surprising that she didn't die."

"I won't forgive you." Grey shuddered and pushed himself up. There was a thunk as the heavy object fell on the ground. "Nobody is allowed to hurt my nakama."

Kera sneered. "Why does it matter if I roughed her up a little? You're all going to die anyway."

Grey placed his fist in his palm. "Ice Make Frost." The air got colder as frost began crawling in every direction. As the frost reached the area behind Grey, the outline of a large boulder formed.

"What!" Kera panicked as the ice revealed floating swords, knives, and rocks.

"I figured out your magic." Grey said. "You can control objects with your mind, and not only that, but you can make what ever you control invisible. That's a really irritating form of magic, you know."

The girl balled her hands into fists as she glared daggers at him.

"The catch with your magic is that you can only make the object itself invisible." Grey continued. "I figured this out when I saw my blood staining one of your spears."

"So what? Even if you know how my magic works, I can still defeat you!" Kera sent several of the floating weapons in Grey's direction.

A small smile formed on his mouth as Grey dodged them with ease. "No, you can't. Ice Make Glacier!"

Kera cried out as ice twisted around her body, encasing her.

"That's for Lucy." Grey started walking away. He winced and put a hand to his side. Maybe he should stop all the bleeding before heading out after Natsu and Lucy.


	9. Erza vs Sarden

**Yo! Before we get back to the story, I would like to thank notlilie and IloveAnimeGuys for their reviews, and everyone that has reviewed my story before them. I might have mentioned this before, but I really love getting reviews! To say thank you, I have baked you these special, handmade, imaginary cookies.**

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Erza gritted her teeth as she chased Sarden through the woods. His takeover had made it so that he could navigate the forest at incredibly fast speeds, and she was having a hard time keeping up with him. Quickly, she reequipped into a lighter and faster pair of armor.

"Stop running away, you coward!" She flung one of her many swords in his direction. The blade sliced off the end hairs of his tail as he narrowly dodged the attack. Much to Erza's surprise, the cheetah stopped in its tracks and whirled around to face her.

"That's more like it." Erza slightly smiled and equipped two large heavy swords. In response the cheetah's lip curled up into a snarl.

The animal bunched up its hind legs and launched itself at her. Erza whipped up her blade to block Sarden's attack. There was a screech of claws against metal. Erza's eyes narrowed with wonder and she jumped a few steps back. Deep groves ran along the blade from where Sarden had scratched it. This was no normal animal.

She replaced the now useless sword for a much more sturdier one, and launched her own barrage of attacks. The first one hit, slicing deep into Sarden's shoulder. The cat howled with pain, but managed to evade the rest of Erza's furious slashes.

"Take Over! Polar Bear!" Sarden panted before transforming into a giant white bear. With a mighty roar, he swiped his paw at Erza, knocking the weapons out of her hands and sending her flying into a tree. She cried out as the wind was pushed out of her lungs. Blood began to swell on her arm from where the bear's claws had stabbed her.

Erza cursed under her breath as she equipped into different armor and jumped up into the branches of the trees. Sarden Nightly wasn't a mere goon, he was strong. His Take Overs were fast too, almost on par with Mira.

Sarden had switched out of the bulky, awkward form of the polar bear and into a chimpanzee. But Erza had waited for him to follow her up there, and sent him a magical wave of energy from the tip of her sword. An explosion sounded as it connected with the tree. Erza's long scarlet hair flew back as the shock wave reached her. Everything in the half mile radius of her attack had been reduced to ashes.

Erza scanned the area. _Where did that little monkey go?_

"You are as strong as they say, Titania."

Erza calmly turned around to see Sarden in his human form. "And you are stronger than I thought."

Sarden chuckled. "So you underestimated me, Erza-chan."

"Why are you people after Lucy?"

Sarden sighed and rubbed his eyes. "My master is the only one with a grudge against her. But, if it's my master's will, I will follow."

"And what about the mute girl, what reason does she have to serve that madman?" Erza didn't bother with polite tones.

"Mute?" Sarden's eyebrows ruffled with confusion. "Oh, you mean Kera-chin? I had forgotten we made her out to be a mute this time."

"She's not really mute?" Erza raised one eyebrow. (Lucy was really jealous of Erza's ability to raise only a single brow, for some unfathomable reason.)

He shook his head. "Nope. Kera-chin is our spy. Because of her superb acting skills, my master has her spy on his clients and rivals. Did you know people are a lot more willing to spill information if they think that a person is deaf?"

"I see, how very clever of you. Still, you did not answer my question. Why are you two working for that insane person?" Erza pointed one of her swords in his direction.

"Kera-chin and I," Sarden started out softly. "owe Master Enrod our lives. You see, Kera-chin is my daughter."

That was the last thing Erza was expecting to hear, and she almost dropped both of her weapons out of surprise.

"Kera-chin's mother died in childbirth, and shortly after I lost my job. Penniless, we were thrown out onto the streets to starve. It was Enrod who found me, he offered me a position as his personal assistant. We went from nothing to everything in an instant. That is why I will do everything in my ability for Master Enrod." Sarden clenched his fists together.

Erza looked down to avoid having him see the sympathy on her face. She knew a true warrior hated pity, and she didn't want to reveal her own weakness of succumbing to others sob stories.

"So," Sarden said after a brief moment of silence. "It seems that neither side is willing to back down. Shall we continue this fight then?"

Erza hardened herself. "Of course." She raised her sword. "I promise that I will make you pay for hurting Lucy."

They sprang at each other at the same time. For the most part, they were evenly matched. Sometimes, someone would land a blow and was rewarded with a hiss of pain. Panting and exhausted, sweat dripping down from every imaginable place, Erza didn't notice that they had landed back in the clearing where they had started until the back of her heal caught on something and she tumbled over.

"Hey, Erza." Grey managed to grin at her.

"Grey!" Erza exclaimed with worry. "What happened to you?"

He laughed his injuries off. "Oh nothin' much. Just kicked some really strange wizard's butt, that's all."

A strangled cry caused the both of them to shift their attention. Sarden was standing in front of a large block of ice.

"Kera!" He desperately pounded on the ice, trying to reach the girl trapped inside. "KERA!"

"It's no use." Grey pushed himself onto his knees. "That ice is not going to break that easily."

"Release her!" Sarden faced them, his panic evident. "Release her now, I'm begging you!"

Erza touched Grey's shoulder. "Do it." She commanded pleadingly.

With a befuddled nod, he waved his hand and the ice melted. Sarden immediately began checking for signs of life from his daughter. With a relieved sigh, he gently put her back on the ground. "She's just unconscious."

Suddenly he stiffened and turned his head to look at the two Fairy Tail wizards. There was an evil glint of anger in his eyes. "You." He stood up and murderously glared down at Grey. "How dare you hurt my daughter. How _dare_ you! I will never forgive you for this!"

"Silence!" Erza roared. Sarden's eyes widened as blood began dripping down his colar bone. The blood came from the wound he received from Erza's sword that was still in position with his neck. Erza looked at him with such rage that the devil himself would quake and run back to his cave. "_How dare you talk about such things to us!_ You have no right! To us, everyone in Fairy Tail is our family. You're here yapping at us about how we hurt your family. Just think about what you did to Lucy. To our family! It is us who will never forgive you!"

Realization hit Sarden like a ten ton hammer. He put a hand to his forehead and stumbled to the ground. "I'm such a hypocrite." He half whispered. "Please forgive me, Erza Scarlet."

Tears began to fall from his eyes. What had he done? He had let his loyalty to Enrod get in the way of his true goal, to protect his family. And he had hurt another family in the process. "This is my loss."

Standing back up on his feet, he avoided eye contact with the two Fairy Tail wizards, and picked up his unconscious daughter. _I'm sorry, Master Enrod._ He thought as he quietly walked away. _I can no longer follow you. Thank you for all the kindness you have shown me, but family comes first._

"You know," Grey glanced over at Erza who was wiping tears from her eyes. "You really need to stop getting emotional over these kind of things."

"Oh just shut up."


	10. Author's Note

I really hate doing this, even though it's my first time. I hate it when other authors do this, so I guess I'm being hypocritical here. My apologies to anyone who has followed or favorite Scarlet Tears-though it's been so long since I've updated that you've probably forgotten all about my story-but I'm putting this story through a major rewrite.

I was looking at this story a while ago and decided that it's crap, but I didn't wan't to delete it. So I'm going to make some major rewrites to this story. I'm probably going to end up changing the story name and the names of my OC's. I'm most likely going to twist the plot line a bit differently from what I originally planned.

For those of you still interested, I'll be bringing this story back sometime this fall, with major rewrites.


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